This introduction to the graduate course ME 322 Kinematic Synthesis of Mechanisms shows the potential for design innovation using a mathematical formulation to compute the dimensions of a device from its required task, literally the calculation of its form from the desired function.

Update: This is the final version of the lecture scheduled for January 9, 2018

These notes for the Stanford University graduate course ME 322 Kinematic Synthesis of Mechanisms present the curvature properties of point trajectories in a planar moving body such as the coupler link of a four-bar linkage.

Update: December 13, 2017. These notes have been revised to use the notation for the components of the pole acceleration and rate of change of acceleration to match Bottema and Roth’s Theoretical Kinematics.

These notes for the Stanford University course ME 322 Kinematic Synthesis of Mechanisms introduce the synthesis of a four-bar linkages that guide the coupler link through two and three specified task positions.

Update. December 12, 2017. These notes have been revised to introduce Sandor and Erdman’s formulas for linkage synthesis which solve for the input and output cranks. This provides a nice pairing with the related equations that are solved for the fixed and moving pivots, directly.

Update: December 12, 2017. These notes have been revised to represent rotation matrices using boldfaced letters. Remarkably, because 2×2 matrices commute this allows these matrices to be replaced by complex exponentials and the coordinate vectors to be replaced by complex numbers and the derivations and calculations do not change.